Kate Royals - Mississippi Today | The Greenwood Commonwealth

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Schools wait on state education department to OK use of federal funds for COVID-19 vaccine incentives
By KATE ROYALS - MISSISSIPPI TODAY
Thu,09/09/21-10:24AM , 819 Reads 9,896 Statewide
Several school districts in Mississippi have plans in place to use federal stimulus funds to offer up to $1,000 for teachers and staff members who get vaccinated against COVID-19, but the Mississippi Department of Education is advising them to press pause.
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Pediatrician parents say Mississippi’s largest school district is ignoring their COVID advice
By KATE ROYALS - MISSISSIPPI TODAY
Fri,09/03/21-5:06PM , 2858 Reads 21,044 Statewide
A group of DeSoto County School District parents who are also physicians say their district — the largest in Mississippi — has ignored their advice on COVID-19 policies and has not been transparent or inclusive in setting its protocols, which include no mask requirement for students and teachers.
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Daiyondra Banks and a few classmates perform classwork via laptops at Jefferson County Junior High School in Fayette. Banks also can view classmates participating from home. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

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Some schools look to hybrid schedules to stem COVID-19 spread in students
By KATE ROYALS - MISSISSIPPI TODAY
Wed,09/01/21-4:48PM , 931 Reads 12,149 Statewide
As the delta variant of COVID-19 spreads rapidly in schools across Mississippi, the state board of education recently issued a directive to give school districts flexibility in how they teach their students.
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Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

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‘Feels like I’ve been put in danger’: Inside a Mississippi mask-optional school district
By KATE ROYALS - MISSISSIPPI TODAY
Fri,08/27/21-11:06AM , 1401 Reads 14,258 Statewide
So many students and teachers are contracting COVID-19 in the Lincoln County School District in the first weeks of fall classes that leaders transitioned two of their school systems to a hybrid schedule.
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